


Unfortunate Shifts

by GogglesXKun



Category: Splatoon
Genre: M/M, Might continue?, probably, these two are idiots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-22
Updated: 2019-09-22
Packaged: 2020-10-26 03:57:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20735858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GogglesXKun/pseuds/GogglesXKun





	Unfortunate Shifts

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Vanta22exual](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vanta22exual/gifts).

It wasn’t exactly a special day. No more so than any other when it started out. The only thing that might appear strange is the X Blood’s leader getting up early without his team. There was a simple reason for it however. Grizzco opened soon enough and he’d rather work full time. It had been Omega’s suggestion. On days where they didn’t practice as a team, they’d head to Grizzco at their convenience. Not that they needed the bonuses, but it forced them to become more accustomed with whatever Grizz could supply at the time, giving them practice with more weapons. No to mention the hoards, especially the bosses tended to give them practice in specific areas. Whether it was luring and aiming bombs in specific places or dodging a stingray, it was useful.

So of course Vintage had agreed in a moments notice much to Double and Red’s pleasure. It meant they’d have more days to themselves so long as they put an hour or two into Grizzco and had the bonuses to prove it. As for Omega, there was some sense of satisfaction from Vintage not arguing that it wouldn’t help. As apathetic as he was and with his obsession with continuously getting stronger, he very rarely did anything that wasn’t turf or ranked and even more rarely without his team… When he changed to be so cold and when she followed along and left behind a lot of her own feelings as well, she couldn’t tell.

But that was a couple weeks ago. Today Omega was still asleep and Vintage was out the door as soon as he was ready. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t somewhat wary and twitchy over leaving his Ballpoint at home… But he’d rather not have it stolen or mistaken for a borrowed weapon. So it’s best to leave it in his room. Not much of an issue. Whatever bit of feelings that had decided to stir up for once would die down again the moment a weapon was back in his hands. However, how other Inklings could walk around with no weapon without any issue, he’d never be sure. Not as if he’d ever care enough to question. Should they want to leave themselves weak, so be it.

Soon enough he found himself hanging outside of the gate as he waited for the shift to start. In all honesty… This job might not actually be legal, but given how many squid-kids wonder in each shift, it doesn’t matter much if it is or isn’t. What does matter, the two toned Inkling notes vaguely irked, is that he’s almost guaranteed to have to wait an extra thirty minutes for a full shift… Whatever, training was training and it was still somewhat more training than he did with his team until they started to protest about not wanting to use the day on training alone. Could he feel proper disappointment he’d find it pathetic… He may call Double a “fool” but it’s simply because the ways Double manages to get himself done in for their rank and tactics are predictable. Nothing more.

The moment the gates opened, Vintage wasted no time heading inside to throw the worker’s uniform over his clothing. Sure the collar of his jacket might get dirty but who really cares about that? Just means he’s been taking pride in his rank and keeping standards high. Regardless of whatever anyone may think of a dirty jacket collar, it doesn’t take long for Vintage to get on the next boat heading out to wait for a full shift. It didn’t matter who so long as they hurried up…

… It didn’t matter until a certain purple-eyed Inkling with an all too familiar bandanna, got on board before freezing up. Why did it have to be Skull of all Inklings that got on? Why was he even here? He never cared much before and surely it isn’t for training as he’s proven he has little interest in improvements. He may be hailed as one of the strongest Inklings if not the strongest in his own tower, but there were loftier heights to reach for now that he just seemed to not care about… It’s nothing Vintage should care about for as many times as he’s contradicted that by actually being irritated with Skull’s sudden laziness as he views it. For a squid with few emotions left to his name, Skull certainly seemed to have all of his emotions putting on a show as of late…

No matter. He could handle this with as straight of a face as ever if Skull didn’t aim to irk him… But knowing the airheaded Inkling, if he hasn’t changed much, he’ll unintentionally get in the way, and they’d end up getting into a fight. Why his apathy seems to melt in even the mere presence of the other boy, he couldn’t tell. It just did. Though if he actually thought back to it, it was sometime after he and Omega were split from Skull and Aviator that their apathetic natures started to settle in. Whatever, it means nothing.

As the other Inkling takes a seat nearby to wait as well, the silence feels heavy. Or was it the eyes he could feel staring at him feeling so heavy? Tossing a slight glare towards the airheaded sniper, he had expected Skull to look away. However, that wasn’t the case it seemed. Nope, Skull just kept staring and it had some sort of effect on Vintage… So he did what came natural. Put an even colder glare on his face with an icy tone to match.

“Well? If you have something to say, _then say it and stop staring at me._”

“... It’s… Nothing.”

And with that, the sniper averted his eyes. Head turning as well soon after. A slight scoff can be heard from the two toned Inkling as he looks away. It wasn’t “nothing”, they both knew that well, but Vintage has decided upon convincing himself not to care. If it was all that important, he’ll bring it up. If not, no loss to himself. As far as he’s concerned, so long as Skull kept quiet, there wasn’t much need to acknowledge him more than necessary.

And that’s exactly what he tried to do when shifts started… But it was irritatingly hard with Skull ensuring he followed him onto each boat. Why was he so insistent on this arrangement? Why was he even here for more than a couple hours? Bonuses didn’t take that long… And why did the airhead seem to hover around and keep an eye on whichever area he was in? Hell, the idiotic sniper nearly got himself splatted and ensured a team wipe a few times this shift run deciding to come grab Vintage to drag him out of harms away despite the fact he’d never received a thanks. Just a confused glare. By the time lunch break rolled around, Skull still hadn’t stopped following at a distance, even when Vintage changed long enough to go grab a meal at the cafe. Only a small one, he had to be back for when shifts started again, but break was mandatory.

That didn’t stop Vintage from heading back onto a boat to wait for break to finish, and that didn’t stop Skull from following him. Why did it irk him to have a shadow. With anyone else, he wouldn’t waste the energy to acknowledge them. Hell, he didn’t even acknowledge Double and Red some days when they shadowed him, and they were loud. So why did irk him when it was Skull? In fact, he found himself more and more irritated with the other as they got closer for some reason… And a mix of both feeling irate and curious as the other sat next to him with a sigh.

“... You’ve changed a lot…”

Out of all the things… He couldn’t tell whether he was interested in why Skull had shadowed him to say such a thing… Or annoyed beyond compare with the airheaded sniper. As a compromise, he finds himself sitting rather alert next to the other, with a glare that could silence Inklings bolder than himself. Considering his obliviousness though, the glare likely didn’t seem that bad… Especially when the X ranker’s full attention was on him so he could say what he pleases without it falling into nothingness.

“... No longer that crybaby that Avi and Omega would try to settle down before coming to get me to help. No crying because you thought you were holding back people from a simple mistake, even as the strongest on the team… Hell, not much of anything from what I can see. When did you go from feeling too much to next to nothing Vinny?”

… Was he outraged or stunned by that? How was he supposed to respond to that? How do you respond to not only your history with an Inkling you’ve ignored for years being brought up, but also said Inkling calling you out on being apathetic? Especially when he couldn’t even explain the change? He had as much of an idea as Omega did about why they became apathetic sometime after the split…

Obviously Skull knew the other Inkling had no answer based on the dropped glare. Especially as the silence stretched on. Not like he helped when he tugged Vintage close enough to wrap an arm around him with another sigh. Not even bothering to acknowledge the tense glare he got in response. As much as Vintage feels as if he should move away… He can’t bring himself to as his glare drops again. It was too familiar. Too calming. How many times had he been held or snuggled up to Skull in such a way? Far too many with how much he used to cry or lose his grip on his emotions. For some reason, Skull just settled him down. Maybe it was trying to prove himself to the sniper, maybe it was something else. He surely couldn’t tell.

“I miss you, ya know that? Not sure why we split up… It’s not like I’m not happy with Purple team and the S4… But I don’t want to just not talk with you or always be in fights… Besides, I’m worried about you too. You’ve never been this apathetic. It’s almost like every part of you is gone. It’s scaring me I guess.”

“... Why does it matter to you?”

It was a shockingly genuine question. They hadn’t talked in ages. Skull should have no attachments left. He shouldn’t care at all what the X Blood leader was up to since they hadn’t seen each other in a couple years if not longer. Why should Skull care about someone who cut him out of his life?... Actually, while it made no sense, did he have the right to question it? Especially as he seemed just as obsessed with Skull?

“Just does. It’s not like I ever stopped caring Vinny. Why do you think I tried to get you to join the fest and kept trying to talk to you despite the fact you didn’t seem to want anything to do with a lower rank?”

“... I don’t know. Curiosity I suppose or just because I was there.”

“Yeah right. We both know I’d take the extra time to eat sweets instead of getting people’s attention for a question. Besides, tell me, do you actually believe I would have even paid enough attention to notice you if I didn’t care? Or would I be as oblivious as ever?”

Again, silence. Skull did have a point shockingly enough. Airheaded enough where he surely would have just dug a snack out of his pocket or bag rather than catching Vintage as he happened to walk by and giving up his full attention. Hell, he some days didn’t even notice people actually trying to get his attention. Rather vocally at that. So perhaps if he had really thought much of it, that excuse that Skull was curious was flimsy at best.

But for Skull to actually care this much still?... It was jarring at best… Overwhelming at worst. And Vintage feels himself stiffening up as he begins to notice he’s drifting more towards that “overwhelming” part… He hadn’t cried in years and part of him was trying so stubbornly to keep it that way, even curled up to the person he used to relax around in just a few moments.

It’s almost as if Skull could sense it too. Without more of a cue than Vintage tensing up somewhat, he found himself tugging the two toned Inkling closer… Even as he tried to give the airhead another warning glare… But the way he started to shake all too clearly told Skull he wasn’t in much of a position to make threats. If anything, he needed this in all honesty, whether he wanted to admit it or not.

And that’s eventually what happened to. The two toned Inkling felt himself shaking more and more as he failed to hold himself together… Tears started to slide down his face… And soon enough he was quietly sobbing once again and clinging to Skull. Right back where they were a couple years ago with Skull’s arms wrapped around the crying Inkling, trying to console him without the need of words…

Though, the light kisses on the top of his head were a bit shocking and flustering… Why did Skull do that…? It’s not as if he exactly minded… Certainly not with how it seemed to help calm him down and deepen his embarrassed blush… He was going to have to whine at Skull later though for making him a mess like that… Can’t get him started on crying and then fluster him, that’s just mean… And was obviously the intention with the light chuckle Skull let slip...

However, eventually and as always, he slowly calmed down. At least enough to stop crying… But as always after he’d end up caving and sobbing until one of his old teammates calmed him down, he felt drained. He didn’t even actually want to keep running the shift if he was honest. His drive for the day was gone… Something Skull seemed to pick up on.

“Wanna head back to my team base? No one is there right now, but you might see Avi later and we could always call Omega.”

With a small nod, Vintage finds himself being led back to the changing rooms. Soon enough, he was being led out of the lobby and back to wherever Skull had set up his newest base… It didn’t seem like such a bad idea to have their original team meet back up… Especially if he had a bit more time with Skull first.


End file.
